While he was an athletic slam-dunking menace, it was Dwight Howard‘s defense that made him a lethal threat on the NBA hardwood. With three Defensive Player of the Year awards under his belt, Howard boasts an enviable defensive resume from his 18-year-long NBA career. But who did a defensive juggernaut like him find it the hardest to guard? D-12 answered the question recently on his Above the Rim pod.
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According to Howard, no one gave him more trouble than former Houston Rockets superstar, Yao Ming. His 7’6” frame coupled with a well-rounded offensive game rendered Howard helpless during many instances.
When a 6’11” defensive center like DH talks about a player being un-guardable, you can bet that the athlete was a force to reckon with.
While highlighting the size difference between the two, D-12 reminisced about the challenges of guarding the former Rockets superstar. He revealed in his podcast,
“Hardest player to guard, um, Yao Ming. 7’5″, shooting fadeaways, turnaround jump shots. Yao Ming was the hardest cause I’m only 6’9”, 6’10”, my shoulders make me 6’11”. But Yao was 7’4” 7’5”, 315 pounds, get into the middle, hook shot, you can’t block it. Face-up jumpshot, pick-and-pop to the elbow, he’s making that.”
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Then Howard’s crew turned his attention to a YouTube compilation in which Yao Ming can be seen getting the better of a young Howard. This video apparently has over nine million views.
Howard didn’t protest the facts of the video and admitted that, in his younger days, he had no answer for Yao Ming.
During the mid-2000s, the NBA floor wasn’t as spread as today’s game and Ming took full advantage of the low-post and high-post opportunities that were generated in that system. The 7’6” Center negated Howard’s athleticism and wide body both using his size advantage and a plethora of jump-shooting moves.
In terms of stats, Ming has a 7-2 head-to-head record against the 3x DPOY. In those games, he put up 23.6 points per game compared to D-12’s 12.2 points a game, and also shot better than him during most match-ups.
Therefore, not only did Yao present various offensive problems, he also limited Howard’s impact on the other end of the floor. However, NBA fans were deprived of numbers battles between a prime Howard and a prime Yao because the latter had a short career due to the injuries that accompanied his size.
Apart from Howard, various other former NBA Centers have admitted that they had no answer for the former Rockets superstar. Yao Ming was agile for his size while his offensive moves gave him the luxury to operate from different areas of the floor, rendering him unpredictable.
